Tobacco jar, Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Etruria, 1785-1795
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1785-1795
Tobacco jar, Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Etruria, 1785-1795 is an object recorded by Victoria and Albert Museum, dated 1785-1795. The museum's brief description reads: Tobacco jar, jasperware with applied reliefs, Josiah Wedgwood & Sons, Etruria, 1785-95.
Museum description: Cylindrical tobacco jar in pale blue jasper with white reliefs. The main relief in the shape of a palm tree colonnade, filled with classical statues alternating with urns on pedestals. Above a white floral relief frieze and engine turned fluting. The edge decorated with applied anthemion shapes. Two large firing cracks running along the foot of the jar, behind the white reliefs. The domed cover with engine turned fluting and a white jasper finial depicting Diana seated on a rock and reaching into the quiver on her back.
The museum record gives material recorded as Jasperware; measurements Height 245 mm; Diameter 140 mm; place associated: Etruria. These details come from the holding museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
This 'Temple of Flora' tobacco jar in pale blue jasper with white reliefs is engine-turned with an Apollo shaped finial. Made by Wedgwood between 1785-95, it is Shape 270 in the Shape Book Number One. Jasperware was invented in 1775 by the founder of Wedgwood, Josiah Wedgwood I (1730-95). Josiah I took a rigourous approach to developing his jasperware and after conducting thousands of trials he successfully achieved the perfect white stoneware body which could be coloured through the addition of metal oxides. Despite the occasional frustration he had when developing jasperware, it became one of Josiah I's most rewarding achievements in his career and since invention has been in production for over 200 years. The use of classical figures appealed to 18th century Georgian interior tastes as the style of ancient civilisations grew increasingly popular during the neo-classical movement in Britain. Wedgwood took advantage of this popularity, and employed artists to copy classical designs to decorate jasperware jars like this one with bas-reliefs. These bas-reliefs are applied onto a moistened unfired ceramic surface in a process called sprigging, and the ceramic is then fired. The jasperware body of this tobacco jar has also been engine turned, a decorative technique where repetitive patterns are cut into ornamental wares before firing. An engine turning lathe is the specialist cutting tool used for this process, and Wedgwood is credited with first introducing this piece of…
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Jasperware
- Dimensions
- Height 245 mm; Diameter 140 mm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- jasper with applied relief
- Place recorded
- Etruria
Design
- Inscriptions recorded
- WEDGWOOD' (impressed)
Identification
- Museum object name
- Tobacco jar
- Museum object number
- WE.4697-2014
- Museum system number
- O1770356
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm materials, dimensions, maker and wider type against the holding institution and a specialist reference.